A boy of eight had to be cut free after he impaled himself on a spike.

Justin Cowell was playing with pals last night when he jumped over a wall and landed on a gate spike which went through his arm.

His screams of pain were heard by his uncle Will Foster, 48, and his mother Donna, who rushed out to see what had happened.

Mr Foster, of The Briars, Castletown, Sunderland, said today: "He was out playing with all the kids on the street. Everyone was around my house, it was a big gathering of family.

"The kids were all outside, they were playing hide and seek. I was inside when suddenly I heard this scream.

"I ran outside and I just saw him stuck on the fence. It was terrible

"But he was really good after that. Once the first shock had gone away, he was very quiet and patient. His mam talked to him to calm him down and talked him through everything until the ambulance got there."

It took the emergency services 15 minutes to free Justin from the spike which was cut off and left in his arm until he was taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital.

Alan Gash, station officer at Fullwell fire station, said: "He was such a brave little lad, he barely made a sound when we were cutting him free. We used a hacksaw because the vibrations from anything else can be painful. But it didn't take long to cut him free and he was taken to hospital with the spike still in his arm.

"He was a tough lad. It was obvious that he'd had a shock but he was very brave."

Justin, of Hylton Road, Sunderland, was taken to hospital where the spike was removed. He is said to be doing well and is expected to leave hospital in the next couple of days.